


Just One Game

by CarminaVulcana



Category: Baahubali (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-30
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2020-07-27 11:10:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20045023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarminaVulcana/pseuds/CarminaVulcana
Summary: Amresh has been discharged from the hospital. After his close brush with death, Devika is willing to humor him even when some of his more ridiculous requests get on her nerves!





	Just One Game

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ratna](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ratna/gifts), [Inkn1ght1](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkn1ght1/gifts), [MayavanavihariniHarini](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MayavanavihariniHarini/gifts).

Life after the accident was no picnic in the park. Amresh had to relearn how to walk and it was a slow, excruciating process. His hands, once so deft and graceful, were now often sore and stiff.

But Devika didn’t mind. He was alive and on the road to recovery. Everything else was an unnecessary complication.

His parents had also chosen to postpone the more serious discussions for later. They were now back in Hyderabad.

And in their absence, she had moved in with him.

“Only for the next two months,” she reminded him and handed him a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. “Till you get back on your feet.”

“Hey, then maybe you shouldn’t get me so used to this royal treatment,” he teased.

“Keep dreaming, rich boy. Besides, royal treatment isn’t new to you. Just drink that OJ, will you?”

Despite her caustic remarks, Devika meant no malice.

She loved Amresh completely. And after that morning in the hospital, she knew he loved her too.

They had not spoken about the future. And while that was a conversation they needed to have, the timing was not right.

For one, they didn’t know if he would be able to rejoin his job as a fencing instructor. Secondly, they didn’t know what the extent of his sporting ability would be even after he was fully recovered.

“I’m getting dressed and leaving for work,” she called out. “Breakfast is in the oven. We’ll eat in 15.”

“Got it,” he continued to read the newspaper. “What’s in the oven though?”

“Egg muffins with crumbled cheddar and fake bacon.”

“Why fake?”

“Because you don’t eat pork!”

‘Oh, right”

He proceeded to solve the crossword while she bathed and changed in the next room.

“So, breakfast in bed or on the table?” she asked him.

Amresh wanted to get out of bed but just as he moved, a painful twinge erupted in his side.

The less than pleasant expression on his face alerted Devika to his discomfort.

“It's your ribs, isn't it? I swear they are taking forever to heal. It’s okay. Don’t move. I’ll get the tray here.”

She helped him settle back in bed and brought him his meal on a folding tray.

“Why did you buy such a childish tray?” he couldn’t help but ask her. “Snakes and ladders? Ludo? Seriously? This is a Kids' folding tray.”

“What’s wrong with Ludo?” Devika bit into a muffin. “Mmmmm… these are so good. You must eat them while they’re still hot.”

Amresh took a muffin too. And indeed, like all of her other delicacies, this one didn’t disappoint.

“So, you like ludo,” he remarked as he reached for a third muffin.

She nodded.

“Then let’s have a game. I have a set of dice and game pieces in my cupboard.”

“But I have to be at work in like an hour. And I need to do the dishes before I leave.”

“The dishes can wait.”

“But my job cannot.”

“Just one game. Please. Play with me and then I will let you go.”

There was something earnest about him that she couldn’t ignore.

“Just one game, okay?”

“Just one game, I promise.”

One hour and three games later, they were still playing. Devika shook her head and phoned her boss at the café. She would need the day off.

Sometimes, ludo was more important than livelihood.


End file.
